House endorses amnesty proclamation for soldiers

MANILA, Philippines - The House committees on justice and on national defense endorsed yesterday President Aquino’s proclamation of amnesty for rebel soldiers led by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.

The two committees unanimously approved a resolution expressing the concurrence of the House of Representatives to the amnesty grant.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II and Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III authored the Concurrent Resolution 8.

Gonzales, who chairs the rules committee, said he expects the justice and defense panels to submit their report early next week.

“The House should be able to give its concurrence in plenary session before next weekend. Hopefully, the intended beneficiaries could start applying for amnesty during this season of giving and joy,” he said.

Covered by the amnesty grant, contained in Aquino’s Proclamation 75, are active and former officers and enlisted personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police who participated in the Oakwood mutiny in July 2003, the Marines standoff at Fort Bonifacio in February 2006 and the Peninsula Hotel occupation in November 2007.

Aside from Trillanes, prominent personalities involved in these incidents were then Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, commander of the Scout Rangers, and Marine Col. Ariel Querubin, who unsuccessfully aspired for Senate seats in last May’s elections.

The justice and defense committees approved Concurrent Resolution 8 after Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., who chairs the justice panel, and his senior vice chairman, Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, secured a commitment from administration officials that they would include a requirement of admission of guilt in the rules implementing the amnesty grant.

Though Fariñas said the Supreme Court had ruled in amnesty cases that an application was an implied admission of guilt, Tupas insisted that an applicant be required to expressly accept that he violated the law through his participation in any of the three events covered by Proclamation 75.

“We assure your honors that we will include that in the rules,” Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. told the two committees.

Responding to questions from committee members, Ochoa, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Presidential Legal Counsel Eduardo de Mesa said applicants would have to file applications with the Department of National Defense.

They said the amnesty takes effect once Gazmin approves it. Gazmin’s decision may be appealed with the Office of the President within 10 days.

De Mesa said an applicant with a pending court case may use his application in seeking dismissal of his case.

“The court should have no choice but to dismiss the case,” he said.

The officials said under the proclamation, active military and police personnel who apply for amnesty would be considered dismissed from the service upon the approval of their applications.

They said soldiers from the rank of technical sergeant and policemen up to the rank of senior police officer 3 will be reinstated if their amnesty applications are approved.

Those from the rank of master sergeant and senior police officer 4 will not be reinstated.

As for Lim, who defended their actions as constitutional, administration officials said he would have to admit his guilt if he applies for amnesty.

Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon, a party mate of Aquino in the Liberal Party, tried to block the approval of the amnesty grant but later relented.

He said many officers and soldiers who have remained loyal to the Constitution have expressed to him their opposition to the grant since there is no assurance that those amnestied won’t repeat their offenses. 

Proclamation 75 amended the original amnesty declaration, Proclamation 50. Malacañang included in the amended issuance some suggestions from both the House and the Senate.